Many Internet users research a product or a service before obtaining it. Many Internet users also research a provider of products or services before patronizing that provider. Currently, an approach that many users follow is to use Web sites that provide ratings and reviews for products, services and/or providers thereof. For example, Web sites such as www.pricegrabber.com, www.bizrate.com, and www.resellerratings.com provide ratings and reviews for products and providers thereof.
To get a holistic view of the reviews and ratings for a product, service, or provider, a user may visit a number of Web sites that provide reviews and ratings and read a number of the ratings and reviews provided by those Web sites. However, this process is fairly time-consuming and cumbersome. Users may be content with a simple summary of the ratings and reviews, in order to avoid spending the time sifting through reviews and ratings on various Web sites.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to enable users to more efficiently conduct research on the products and services they are interested in obtaining (e.g., by purchase, lease, rental, or other similar transaction) and on the providers of products and services they are interested in patronizing.